6 Easy Twitter Tips For Northern Irish Businesses

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Social media is key in the marketing and branding of today’s small businesses.

That’s no secret. If you run, or work for any kind of business you’ll know that without social media, it’s difficult to make your brand’s voice heard and near impossible to continue growth.

Utilising Twitter to market your small business can certainly be overwhelming if you don’t know your handles from your hashtags. But once understood, Twitter can be a strategic wonderland for networking and building valuable relationships and generating leads for your company.

6 Ways to Utilise Twitter for Your Business

1. HASHTAG

Made famous by Twitter, the hashtag is a highly effective tool, particularly for small businesses. Hashtags let users to search for particular topics that interest them – so using a relevant hashtag within your tweets means potential customers are more likely to come across your brand.

A short, sweet, simple and clear hashtag that is relevant to your brand can be a huge driver for brand recognition.

A perfect example is Slims Healthy Kitchen, who use the #ChooseBalance hashtag, which is their recognisable brand slogan. Their customers frequently use the hashtag when mentioning the brand on their social media platforms.

However it is important not  to spam your tweets with hashtag.  Twitter recommends no more than two per tweet as using anymore actually devalues the strength of each hashtag.

2. ORGANISE

Timing plays a very important role in your Twitter strategies. There will always be better times of the day to tweet than others and this will vary for every brand, depending on the online habits of your customers.

Buffer is a great app to use to schedule Tweets and help you stay organised. The recommended optimum tweeting times are between 9am-4pm, showing the most activity and the highest number of clickbacks. Buffer allows you to schedule your tweets for specific times of the day, meaning you don’t have to worry about being on hand to tweet, and it ensures your highest potential reach throughout the day.

3. BE VISUAL

Twitter decided to add inline images to tweets way back in 2013, meaning that you no longer have to click on the tweet to see the image. Buffer recently found that tweets with images received 18% more clicks than those without. They also received 89% more favourites and 150% more retweets.

Canva is a great tool to use if you want to put together an image for a tweet that looks good and speaks to your brand. It allows you to select the dimensions perfectly formatted for Twitter and the freedom to design your own graphic.

Twitter has also recently rolled out a native video feature which is set to stir even more engagement among users.

4. ENGAGE

As a brand, engagement is one of the most important things you can do with Twitter. Follow those who may be interested in your brand and other local businesses. Favourite tweets, retweet good content and most importantly, respond to tweets. Thank people for following you or for recommending your business to others. The more you engage with others, the more they will engage with you, thus turning followers into customers.

Tweetdeck is a desktop tool to help you stay on top of all of your engagements. You can make individual columns for your feed, your mentions, your lists and more, allowing you to see everything in one place.

Galgorm Resort and Spa is one local business who often retweet and favourite mentions from their happy customers, thus encouraging more users to interact.

5. ANALYTICS

In a similar sense to Buffer Analytics, Twitter Analytics is a goldmine of information allowing you to see what you’re doing right and what you can improve upon. The user-friendly dashboard outlines which tweets are performing best, the number of impressions they are receiving, growths and drops in followers, mentions, profile visits and more.

It gives you a monthly summary, allowing you to make a quick and easy comparison month to month. Looking for patterns within your information gives you an idea on how well certain strategies are working – such as the time of day your tweets go out, which links are clicked and shared, who responds and so on. This leaves room for you to experiment on your strategies. For example, if you’re seeing a lot of impressions per tweet but not so many clicks, perhaps finding a more compelling way to word the tweet can work in your favour.

6. CONSISTENCY

Once you’ve got the basics of Twitter down and you have established your presence, it’s important to stay consistent with both your content and your activity if you want your following to continue to grow. Posting something irrelevant to your brand or falling off the Twittersphere can negatively impact both your following and your reputation. Simply tweeting daily can keep your presence firmly established.

It certainly takes time and a craft, but once you have it grasped, Twitter can be a highly valuable social media platform and an extremely cost-effective marketing tool for your small business.

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40 Things Only Northern Irish People Do

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As if you need any more proof that Northern Ireland is a wee world of its own…

But nevertheless, at NI Parcels we’ve decided it would be a bit of craic to make a list of all the strange eccentricities we possess as a country.

So, here are 40 Things Only Northern Irish People Do. If you think of any we’ve left out, be sure to pop over to our Facebook page and tell us!

1. Say bye one hundred times before hanging up the phone.

2. Call your parents mummy and daddy even when you’re a fully grown adult.

3. Get a wee bit excited about a bomb scare because it means you might get to go home from work early.

4. Bring Lucozade and grapes to people when visiting them in hospital, as if this sugary drink has medicinal qualities.

lucozade1

5. Introduce Coronation Street in your best Julian voice.

6. Start every conversation with ‘here’

7. And end every sentence with ‘soitis’.

Leaderboard-Learn-More-NI-Parcels

8. Try to guess where Frank’s weather watching camera is every single night. (And feel secretly triumphant when you get it right.)

9. We fully believe we have the psychic ability to predict a person’s religious background by the way they pronounce the letter H.

10. And by what they call this place.

r4tut

11. And by what football team they support.

12. And by how far apart their eyebrows are.

13. By what side of the road they walk on.

14. Say ‘fuck off’ when what you really mean is ‘are you serious?’

15. Ask for a chip when you mean  portion of chips. Not one single chip.

Two paracetamol an' a battle a this. You'll

16. Drink a glass of milk with dinner.

17. Pronounce Primark as Pree-mark.

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18. Have a ginger mate called fanta pants.

19. Use the term ‘poke man’ to describe a person who sells ice cream from a van.

20. Have lemonade delivered directly to your door by the Maine man.

21. Slag off Northern Ireland til the cows come home, but get violently possessive if someone from outside the country does it.

22. Eat crisp sammiches.

23. AND eat four different types of bread in one Ulster Fry because we CLEARLY don’t get enough carbs.

24. Use the term ‘carry out’ to refer to the feed of drink you buy from the off license before you go to the pub and drink more.

25. Do stuff like this just for the craic.

Two paracetamol an' a battle a this. You'll

26. Talk about the weather non stop.

27. And complain regardless of whether it’s sunny, raining, snowing.

28. Keep towels and bed sheets in the hot press.

28. Buy the local papers religiously to see who died. Or, at least your granny does anyway.

29. Possess the inherent inability to take a compliment.

Two paracetamol an' a battle a this. You'll (1)

30. Use the phrase ‘going up the town’ to say that you’re off to do some shopping.

31. Use the term ‘the big light’.

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32. Have a deep rooted fear of wooden spoons.

33. And this red light. 

Two paracetamol an' a battle a this. You'll (2)

34. Drive somewhere on a Sunday just to get an ice cream.

35. Eat dulse. Seaweed. Actual seaweed.

36. Refer to everything as wee. 

Two paracetamol an' a battle a this. You'll (3)

37. Mix chocolate and crisps together. Preferably with Tayto cheese and onion.

38. Say sorry and apologise profusely when someone bumps into YOU in the street. 

39. Have a weird obsession with international country and western singers.

r4wy6

40. Smile, make eye contact and say hello to people in the street.

 

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23 Weirdest Northern Irish Newspaper Headlines

24 Weirdest Norn Irish Headlines (1)

Northern Ireland has a reputation around the globe for outstanding journalism…

Our reporters have produced some groundbreaking investigative content over the years and some of the most talented names in the journalism industry first cut their teeth at our local and regional titles.

To celebrate our country’s journalistic triumphs, we’re taking a look at what are, without doubt, the greatest and most memorable headlines in Northern Ireland’s newspaper history.

We’re sure you’ll agree on the ‘memorable’ part at least ….

1. Hopefully there was no one else in the water at the time.

belfast telegraph headline

2. The accused was later arrested for attempted mooder (eugh, sorry).

northern ireland newspaper headline

3. Well, if he insists…

northern ireland newspaper headline

4. Bus w**ker (literally)

northern ireland newspaper headline

5. Luckily no one was injured.

northern ireland newspaper headline

6. A bit harsh. He seems like a nice lad.

northern irish newspaper headlines

7. No word on whether the victim was askin’ for it.

northern irish newspaper headlines

8. Security has increased in the area, after fear of what ‘his ma’ might do to retaliate.

northern irish newspaper headlines

9. Never EVER come between a man and his meat and pastry based snack.

northern irish newspaper headlines

10.  It was a crap idea to begin with.

northern ireland newspaper headline

11. This unfortunate layout decision.

 northern ireland newspaper headlines

12. And another Titanic fail…

northern irish newspaper headline

13. Apparently the driver was half-cut at the time of the incident.

 YDSPbU6

14. No word on whether the ‘wile dose’ has subsided.

best

15.  Just as the philosophical question goes: “If a naked transvestive dogger falls in a forest, do they make a sound?”

 dogging

16. Wait – you’re NOT supposed to sit on your parents when they refuse to buy you more drink?

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17.  After battering innocents with carbohydrates, the perpetrator knew it was crunch time.

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18. After receiving some therapy, the man is feeling much bedder. 

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19.  You gotha be kidding me…

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20.  Maybe it was just an axedent? 

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21. Pretty sure they saw more than a beauty spot.

 cave hill

22. Apparently the co-pilot gave him a hand.

 enhanced-buzz-14696-1417171294-12

23. And of course…

 bohemi

 

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24 Things Every Northern Irish Person Did As A Child.

There’s no doubt about it, us Northern Irish really are a rare breed.

And it’s fairly easy to see why. All you have to do is take a look back at our weird and wonderful childhoods…

Things all Norn Irish people did when we were childer…

1. You got a batin’ for leavin the murshon on.

Which one a yousens left the murshon

2. You got a batin’ for beakin off school.

3. You ran into the house to beg for money when you heard the poke man’s music.

4. You’ve never ran faster that when you played rap the doors.

6. You got threatened with the wooden spoon.

-MUM (1)

7. You’ve said this infamous line.

8. You’ve explored a dilapidated/abandoned house with your mates.

9. You had a street dog that was part of your gang.

10. You had a chippy or chinese on a Friday night.

11. You got a bus to Kelly’s in Portush/ the Coach in Banbridge at age 15.

Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

12. You played kerbsy.

13. The best summer of your life was spent at a caravan park in either Portrush or Newcastle.

14. When you were sick, or in hospital, someone always brought you a bottle of this because for some reason we believe that it has medicinal qualities.

15. You loved going to your granny’s because she’d sneak you money.

-MUM (4)

16. You have 100 cousins. And you don’t even know the half of them.

17. You weren’t allowed to eat anything after school because…

sweets

18. You’ve seen May McFetridge in Panto.

19. You kept towels in the hotpress. (And probably still do)

20. You collected these. And spent days on end practicing wee tricks.

21. If you did anything wrong, you were threatened with ‘the man’.

-MUM (3)

22. When your ma or da was really angry, you’d hear these four words.

stairs

23. You had to try not to cry in front of your mates when you got smacked on the knuckles playing conkers.

24. “Stewed bugs and onions” was a standard reply when you asked what’s for dinner.

 

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10 Reasons Why You Should DEFINITELY Use NI Parcels

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Now there’s a chance we might be a tiny bit biased, but we’re pretty sure that NI Parcels is the just about the handiest service on the planet.

Well, at the very least, we offer the handiest parcel sending service on the planet.

If you’ve booked with us before you’ll know how cheap, easy to use and reliable we are. And if you haven’t yet booked, here are ten good reasons why you definitely should.

1. We’re cheap as chips!

With NI Parcels you can send a parcel from £5.99. We can save you up to a whopping 80% on your parcel deliveries if you usually book directly with couriers. And if your parcel is over 2kg, we can be considerably cheaper than the Post Office too.

2. Door to Door service

We offer door to door collection and delivery which means all you have to do is book online, put your item in a box, attach a label to it and hey presto – we’ll take care of the rest and deliver it to its destination, as if by magic.

3. We’re Northern Irish

And we all know that Northern Irish businesses are traditionally more reliable and trustworthy.*

(*Not actually statistically proven, but probably true on some level.)

weathers tar

4. Full tracking

To give you that extra peace of mind, we offer full tracking so you can keep an eye on your parcel every step of the way.

5. Excellent customer service. 

Our customer service team are the best in the business. You can contact them on live chat, via email or telephone and they’ll always be quick to respond and happy to help with any query.

6. We ship worldwide

We don’t just send parcels within NI. We send to Ireland, mainland UK, the rest of Europe and to over 200 countries worldwide. So if you need to send a pair of Speedos to your nephew Dave on his gap year in Brisbane, we’re the guys and gals to call.

worldwide

7. We care about Northern Irish businesses

NI Parcels is used regularly by hundreds of local businesses; from motor repair garages to jewellery designers and architects to online decor shops. We understand that keeping costs low is high priority for small businesses, and we’re confident that we’re the most cost effective option for the majority of them. We also offer users the chance to add credit to their accounts which is handy for repeat customers and you’ll get a nifty wee 5% off if you top up more than £100.

8. We’re so easy to use

We pride ourselves on the fact that NI Parcels is so easy to use. It takes just a few mere minutes to make a booking and you can do it on your computer, mobile or tablet. If you’re ever facing any problems, you can just give us a call and we’ll sort it out for you.

9. We’re wile craic

If you’ve read any of our blog posts (like this one, and this one, and this one), you’ll know that we like to have a bit of fun. As a Northern Irish business, we’re very passionate about our wee country and local culture, and we think it’s important to celebrate that. Here’s a wee Facebook video we made!

10. You don’t even have to take our word for it

Of course, we have plenty of good things to say about ourselves, but our customers do too. We have hundreds of independent reviews with customers saying all sorts of lovely things about NI Parcels. If you need a second opinion to convince you, just take a look a look at our most recent reviews featured on our ‘about us’ page.

 

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11 Northern Irish Blogs You Need To Follow

nis top blogs

Over the past few years, the world of blogging has changed dramatically.

Blogging has gone from being something that only self-obsessed teenage girls did in their bedrooms, to a hobby that millions of people around the world enjoy.

Nowadays there is literally a blog to cater for every interest on earth. And I mean EVERY interest on earth.

You’re into pictures of people eating baguettes? Cool. There’s a blog for that. Your greatest passion in life is reading Dolly Parton quotes about love? Great. There’s a blog for that too.

And even though Northern Ireland is very teeny tiny, it has no shortage of diverse blogs on a wide range of topics. I mean there are no Northern Irish bloggers (that I know of) with their own corner of the internet dedicated to baguettes or Dolly Parton quotes, or both combined, but there are some excellent local blogs out there that tackle all kinds of interests from fashion and food to politics and travel.

So if you’re looking for a new website to read on your daily commute or something for when you lock yourself in the bathroom to get five minutes peace from the kids, here are 11 of the best Northern Irish Blogs that you really should be following.

1. That Belfast Girl

Thatbelfastgirl.com

Thatbelfastgirl.com

This blog is a personal favourite, not just because it deals with two of my life’s loves (lipstick and shoes), but mainly because Gemma-Louise who runs the blog is such an inspiration to young, hard-working women. Gemma has about twenty university degrees, she’s currently studying for another, she runs her blog, she attends every local event in the calendar and she still manages to look more glam than Kim K while she’s at it. Thatbelfastgirl.com

2. Slugger O’Toole

slugger

There will be a lot of people reading this who already follow Slugger O’Toole but it’s worth a mention for anyone who might not be familiar with the political commentary of Mick Fealty and his team of contributors. This is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in NI politics. Best of all, it has a constant churn of quality on-the-nose content, exploring a spectrum of opinions. Sluggerotoole.com

3. Belfast Barman

belfast barman

This blog is the brainchild of a local bar manager, who also happens to contribute to Slugger O’Toole. Belfast Barman expresses his opinion on many subjects but I especially love his posts about the local hospitality trade. He’s clearly very passionate about Northern Irish life  – the good and the bad, and his wit often leaves me laughing out loud. Belfastbarman.com

4. The Style Guide Blog

Theagoraphobicfashionista.com

Theagoraphobicfashionista.com

Sera has been on the blogging block for a while now but her posts never fail to compel me. She started off her blogging career as The Agrophobic Fashionista, garnering much acclaim by delving so honestly into her mental health battles and chipping away at the stigma surrounding this specific issue. Her new website The Style Guide Blog is a new evolved incarnation, mostly tacking fahion, beauty, design and health.

5. Pikalily

duck a

I’ll be honest, I’ve actually had to stop looking at Pikalily because I can not cope with how delicious every single post looks. I’m not a ‘foodie’ at all – I mean, I LOVE food but i can’t cook a thing. Nevertheless, every time I read a Pikalily post, I’m desperate to try each recipe. The blog (which also features a splash of travel) really is terrific, so take a look by all means – just do so at the peril of your stomach. Pikalily.com

6. Belfast Times

belf

Jeff who runs this blog, is so on top of what’s happening in Northern Ireland and Belfast Times has become a real go-to for local news and events. As well as this, he also offers up some fab reviews on film, theatre, food and events. There are interviews and also some cool lifestyle posts. I’m really not sure where Jeff finds the time to do all this. I’ve never met him, so I’m convinced he’s a non-human being that’s evolved past the point of needing sleep. Belfasttimes.co.uk

7. Sugahfix

suga

I like to call Katrina (who runs Sugahfix) Northern Ireland’s fairy blog mother. She’s the original and as a result, Sugahfix is NI’s number one fashion, beauty and lifestyle website. My favourite features are the Style Spotter and fashion galleries, mainly because I love having a nosey at what other Northern Irish women are wearing. Katrina also founded FABB which is a collective of local fashion and beauty bloggers, set up to support each other’s work and help each other grow. You can check out the list of FABBers here. Sugahfix.com

8. The World of Kitsch

world of

If you like weird stuff, you’ll love The World of Kitsch. Honestly. Claire has been nominated and has won a string of awards for her blog and it’s easy to see why – there’s nothing out there quite like The World of Kitsch. I can’t get enough of the weird and wonderful products she posts about and I’m constantly visiting the site to see what new obscure thing she’s discovered. Theworldofkitsch.com

9. A Cup of Lee

cup of

A Cup of Lee is a blog about blogging. If you’re interested in the world of PR, digital marketing and social media, you will become absolutely obsessed with this blog. Leanne is not only so knowledgeable about this industry, she’s able to break down subjects to make them digestible and relatable to anyone. The best thing about this blog is Leanne’s ability to explain something in a way you never considered before. I can’t get enough. Acupoflee.wordpress.com

10. Life at the Little Wood

life

This blog will make you want to move to the countryside, bake some cakes and birth some adorable children. Emma is a lifestyle, fashion, beauty and family blogger. Her photography is absolutely stunning and your heart will just melt everytime she posts about those lovely little children of hers. Life at the Little Wood is a perfect source of inspiration for any mums or family oriented gals out there, but even the undomesticated among us will find something to love among her posts. Lifeatthelittlewood.co.uk

11. Quare Swally

quare

Despite not really liking beer all that much, Quare Swally is still one of my favourite local blogs. (It’s about beer. FYI. In case that wasn’t clear.) Roy’s style of writing is absolutely hilarious and is so, totally Northern Irish from his funny colloquialisms to his genius references. Through this blog I am now very well educated in the local craft beer and brewery trade. If you like a tipple, you’ll find some cracking recommendations here. Quareswally.co.uk

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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12 Things That Will Happen With The Belfast Bikes

belfast bikes

@daisybella17 on Twitter

With elections coming up on 7th May, the Northern Irish media has been a bit doom and gloom lately…

So naturally, people are feeling a bit downhearted and losing sight of the great things that Northern Ireland has to offer. No one’s in the mood for a packet of Tayto and even Eamonn Holmes’ banter can’t put a smile on our faces.

But thankfully, this week the long-awaited Belfast Bikes scheme launched, giving us something more positive to focus our attention on.

Here at NI Parcels, we’re very excited about the impact that Belfast Bikes will have on the city, and hopefully the wider country as time goes on. We have a really great feeling about it, so we thought we’d turn our thoughts into an entertaining little blog post that will distract you from all the negative headlines for at least five minutes.

Here are: 12 things that will inevitably happen with the Belfast Bikes

1. There will be selfies. So many selfies. Caption: “Trying out the new @Belfastbikes” Subtext: “Look how fit and healthy I am and how much I care about the environment and my community. AMENT I GREAT?!”

Pete Snodden showing us all how it's done! (via @petesnodden on Twitter)
Pete Snodden showing us all how it’s done! (via @petesnodden on Twitter)

2. The media will talk like it’s the best thing to happen to Northern Ireland and make it look like we’re a progressive place, in line with the rest of the UK. Everyone’s going to be fitter and healthier and Belfast is going to be the centre of the world.  (And of course, there’ll be a bunch of negative Nellies who will yap about it.)

3. It will therefore be the greatest novelty in the world for about a month and everyone will sign up and try one out for the craic.

4. Websites and newspapers will compete for the most ridiculous pun infested headlines which we groan at despite being secretly impressed yet sad that we didn’t think of them first.

headline4

5. There will be pictures of Northern Irish politicians posing on the bikes. And we will make memes with these pictures.

6. Someone will get hurt and there will be calls to ban Belfast Bikes altogether.

7. The helmet issue will become a thing. But nothing will happen with it.

8. More miserable sods will yap about Belfast Bikes and they will be given a funny nickname; ie the coca cola death traps. (Yes, that’s rubbish. I’m sure the great Northern Irish public will think of something better.)

9. Some idiot will definitely attempt to put one on top of a Bonfire. Or dump one in the Lagan. Oh wait…

Theulsterfry.com
Theulsterfry.com Literally coming up the Lagan in a bubble.

10. The media will make it look like we have a huge vandalism problem and people will be interviewed on Nolan or UTV Live suggesting that we cancel the entire scheme.

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11. Once the buzz dies down and people calm the bap, commuters will start to use them and realise that they are bloody handy.

12. In the end, they’ll eventually become part of day-to-day life and WILL be an asset to the city.

ni tourist 

 

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NI Parcels sponsors new race team: NI Parcels Racing

NI Parcels racing team

Today we’re interrupting our usual blog posts, parcel chatter and small business news to bring you something a little bit different…

NI Parcels is announcing sponsorship of its new race team NI Parcels Racing. (Yep, you read that correctly – we do more than send a lot of parcels.)

NI Parcels Racing has entered three cars into the Ford Fiesta Cup for the 2015 season based at Kirkistown, N. Ireland.

The race team consists of three drivers, Paul Stewart (NI Parcels MD), Roy Stewart and Desi McGlade. The three drivers will be battling it out for championship points across 10 races throughout the year.

IMG_4193

The Fiesta race series is for 1.25lt Zetec engined Ford Fiestas. Strictly enforced regulations that prohibit performance modifications make it very close and competitive racing. The season also only allows six controlled tyres. It is a fantastic series to watch with battles throughout the grid.

“I am delighted to be competing in this year’s Fiesta Championship and even more so to have three NI Parcels cars on the grid. We will be fiercely battling among ourselves and most certainly there will not be any team orders!” said Paul Stewart, NI Parcels Managing Director.

The rest of the NI Parcels team wish them all the very best. If they can race cars as fast as we can send your parcels, they’re onto a surefire winner.

 

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13 Magic Facebook Tips For Northern Irish Businesses

FB

If you own or work for a small business, that business probably has its own Facebook page. Am I right?

And let me guess – looking after that Facebook page is a gigantic pain in the arse?

If so, you’re not alone. So many Northern Irish businesses are stuck in a bit of a rut with Facebook. It started out great. It was new and exciting and you were reaching tons of people without having to pay a single penny. But then it just kind of stopped working. Facebook started adding new features, changing things and making it almost impossible for businesses to succeed without advertising.

As a busy person with a job, a family and a social life, we know you don’t have the time to keep up with every single new update, term and condition that Facebook issues. But fortunately for you, we’re giant nerds with nothing better to do, so to help you out a wee bit, we’ve rounded up some quick and easy tips that you can start using now to avoid wasting time and start making some moneeyyy from this old thing.

1. Use it or lose it

Facebook recognises when pages are more active and post regularly and it will reward you by increasing the amount of people you reach. A great feature is the ability to schedule posts which allows you to plan ahead and maintain regularity.

schedule

2. Don’t repulse people with a crap profile

Update your profile and cover photos every so often to keep people interested. Make sure you use attractive images that are the correct size. (Here are some size guidelines)

 3. Get experimental…

Facebook also likes it when you shake it up and post different types of media. Add pictures to your status updates for more engagement and when you post a website link ALWAYS make sure that the preview image appears. When posting videos, upload them directly to Facebook rather than just copying and pasting a YouTube link, as Facebook prefers it when you use its own features and will again reward you with greater reach.

4. Gain some Insight

Facebook’s Insights tool lets you know which posts are your most and least popular- and by the way, if something isn’t working just stop doing it and find another, more creative way of getting your message across. It’s all about trial and error. Insights also lets you know when your audience is most active online, so you know the best time to post or schedule posts. You can also see where your audience is from, what age they are, their gender and interests etc.

5. Be a fake American

Facebook is in the midst of introducing a new tool called ‘Graph Search’ which is basically a better search function that, amongst many other things, can give you valuable information about your audience. At the minute it isn’t available to UK users, but what you can do is change your language to English US (here’s how) and hey presto – you’ll be able to use it.

graph search

6. Be your selfie

Facebook is a social network, which means you don’t have to be all serious and corporate all the time. Share themed updates, behind the scenes pictures or selfies so people can see you’re real people and not robots. Establish a voice that people can relate to. Don’t post huge status updates, because quite frankly, no one cares enough about your business to read it.

dominoes

7. Sell yourself,  baby… just not all the time

But at the same time, remember that the point of a Facebook business page is to promote your business so don’t get carried away with posting cat memes and quotes. Use the 70:20:10 ratio – 70% of your posts should increase brand awareness, 20% should be shared content or ideas from others and 10% should be promotional. If you use this rule and have specific objectives for every post, it makes it a lot easier to measure what’s working and what’s not.

8. Be friends with your fans

The main thing that any business wants on Facebook is engagement because a high level of engagement in your page will increase your reach and reach will help you gain customers. The best way to get engagement is to ask questions and respond to everyone. People love to give their opinion and are more likely to engage with brand that is personable and has a friendly voice.

facebook-marketing-techniques

9. Hey cheapskate – put your hand in your pocket

It’s no secret to most Facebook users that even if you have 10,000 fans, that doesn’t mean that all 10,000 people are going to see all your posts. In fact, many businesses report that less than 1% of their fans even see their posts. For that reason, we hate to say it, but you have to spend some money and advertise your business.

10. But don’t spend an absolute fortune

Start small with your Facebook ads, put a fiver behind your campaign and see how it works. If people start responding then fantastic, if not – adjust your budget and add to it little by little.

11. Embrace the POWER (Editor)

If you dabble in Facebook ads, then start using Power Editor. This handy tool lets you manage your ads better. It can seem incredibly overwhelming when you first get started but if you play about with it you’ll soon get used to it. You can find more info about Power Editor here.

 

12. Be super specific about who you want to reach

When you set up an advert, you will have to select an audience. The great thing about Power Editor is that you can target people in all sorts of ways – by age, gender, their education status, their job, their interests – the list is endless. The most specific you are, the better the results will be. If Power Editor tells you that your audience size is over 1,000,000 then you’re not being specific enough – try to aim for 800,000 or under.

13. Tell the world how amazing you are!

If you’ve received a nice review or a lovely email from a customer, share it on your Facebook page – don’t be afraid to boast a little. It will add more credibility to your business and people respond well to positivity.

Yay! (1)

 

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26 Faces That Every Northern Irish Person Should Recognise

Northern Ireland is just pure bursting with talent…

I mean, seriously – this wee country has produced some incredible people over the years; from Oscar nominated actor turned daughter-losing badass Liam Neeson to serial killing sex weirdo Jamie Dornan.

Then there’s the iconic broadcaster and hard hitting journalist Eamonn Holmes, rich ball hitter Rory McIlroy and of course, not forgetting – our favourite members of Snow Patrol, Jonny, Nathan and Johnny.

But any true Northern Irish person will tell you that it’s not just the big global names we care about. There’s a whole list of famous faces that have contributed to Norn Irish culture, been integral parts of our childhood and who have made us proud to call ourselves Northern Irish/British/Irish. (What are we, again?)

So, to honour those lesser acknowledged but nonetheless special names, we thought we’d put them on a list. Here are 26 faces that every Northern Irish person should recognise.

1. Julian Simmons

Who else could start this list but the living legend that is big Julian? If you ever want to find out if someone is truly Norn Irish, walk up to them and say “And nai on the yooteevee.” If they don’t respond with a remark about Gail Platt’s love life, I’m pretty sure Stormont will grant you permission to extradite this imposter.

2.  Pamela Ballantine

The fun loving broadcaster who has neither aged, nor been pictured without her trademark ear-to-ear grin in the last 500 years. (We’re fairly certain she’s a vampire. Or maybe it’s all that Optilase…)

pam

3. Rose Neill

The newsreader who loves Northern Ireland so much that she got this patriotic haircut.

rose neill

4. Jedi Jim Eastwood

The cliche speaking mind controller who actually had the gall to try and fire Alan Sugar from The Apprentice.

jedi jim eastwood

image via Facebook

5.  Frank Mitchell

The broadcaster and presenter who somehow has never run out of towns for his Weather Watching camera. It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries.

Portballybackeydown - Somewhere in

6. Frostbit Boy

The local teen who became an internet sensation after his body was momentarily inhabited by a senile old man.

Via Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

7. Our Logie

And not forgetting his good pal Refundinho.

refun

8. Colin Murray

Despite forging a successful career as a sport and music journalist, he’ll always be the awkward looking lad from the Lidl commercials, who tried to show us that it’s ok to do your shopping there even though they have way less stuff than Tesco.

9.  Stephen Nolan

The man who earns a living by trolling politicians live on air, interviewing bigots and making members of the audience shout angrily.

nolan show

10. Uncle Hugo

The Radio Ulster disc jockey who is like sexual catnip to old ladies.

hugo duncan

11. Terri Hooley

The unstoppable one eyed bandit who survived growing up in east Belfast, getting shot in the head with an arrow, the Troubles, bankruptcy, a serious heart attack and having to hear Teenage Kicks at every event he ever attends.

Image by Urbanlander.blogspot.com

Image by Urbanlander.blogspot.com

12. The cast of Give My Head Peace

Ironically, they are probably Ulster’s most functional family.

13. The girl who gets headbutted and dies in one of NI’s most grim road safety ads.

Not only did this ad scar us for life, but it also ruined Samantha Mumba songs for everyone.

does

14. Joe Mahon

There’s a reason why the places you visit are ‘lesser spotted’.

lesser spotted

15. Jenny Bristow

Middle class mum’s favourite.

jenny

16. Roy Walker

“What’s Mr Chips doing there?” Almost always something that looks like a sexual act, cleverly concealed by the flashing boxes.

jegda

17.  Jim McDonald

Nai I’m warnin ye Eluzabith.

18.  Malachi Cush

The talented singer from Donaghmore who came to prominence through BBC’s Fame Academy. (Now available for shopping centre openings, judging local talent competitions and turning on Christmas lights.)

19. Orlaith McAllister

(Yes, the one from the hot tub in Big Brother.)

20. Singer from Ash

You know the one. With the song about the… The girl… burn, baby something, something. Oh, I can’t remember. Just Google them.

21. Zoe Salmon

The lawyer turned Blue Peter presenter with the very lovely face.

22. Brian Kennedy

Most famous for having his song made even more famous by Westlife. 

23. May McFetridge

Probably the only man who looks more like a man when he’s dressed as a woman. (And also Worzel Gummidge.)

 24. Duke Special

Dreadlock piano eyeliner man, whose song you can never remember but for some reason, when you hear it, you know every word.

 25. Dj Hix

Actually – this is kind of a stupid one, because although most people know his name, they haven’t a notion what he looks like. So here’s a picture of a radio.

hix

 26. Barra Best

The second best weatherman in the country. (Sorry Barra, but Frank does have a Weather Watching camera…)

barra

 

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